Bullets fall to undefeated Cougars 6-3
Alyssa Ritchie ’23 tallied a pair of defensive saves at Kean on Saturday (Photo by Muriel Gibson ’24).
3Gettysburg (5-2)
6 Kean University (9-0)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gettysburg | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Kean University | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
Game Recap: Field Hockey | 9/25/2021 11:00:00 PM
Coming off a hard-fought victory in its conference opener on Friday, the Gettysburg College field hockey team gave unbeaten and fourth-ranked Kean University a fight before eventually succumbing 6-3 in a non-conference meeting Saturday.
Final Result
| Teams | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Gettysburg (5-2) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| #4 Kean (9-0) | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
Gettysburg’s Top Performers
- Alex Wenz ’25 (Blue Bell, Pa./Gwynedd Mercy): 2 Goals
- Emma Bertrando ’22 (West Chester, Pa./Henderson): Goal, 2 Assists
- Jenna Vadinsky ’23 (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan): Assist
- Alyssa Ritchie ’23 (Baldwin, Md./Notre Dame Prep): 2 Defensive Saves
- Eilene Besselman ’22 (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg): 3 Saves
Kean’s Top Performers
- Jordan Thompson: 3 Goals, Assist
- Lia DiPiazza: Goal, 3 Assists
- Megan Keeney: Goal, Assist
- Jenna Flemings: 2 Saves
Game Summary
- First Quarter: Kean didn’t waste any time establishing a lead with Thompson scoring just past the one-minute mark. Bessleman and Flemings exchanged saves before Jorja Hibschman made it a 2-0 lead for the Cougars on a redirect at 7:43.
- Second Quarter: Thompson once again kicked off the scoring with a strike following a penalty corner in the 20th minute. Despite the deficit, Gettysburg battled back with back-to-back goals by Wenz off penalty corners. The first-year redirected hits from Bertrando for scores in the 25th and 27th minutes. Then it was Bertrando’s turn, with the senior slapping an in-bounds pass from Vadinsky off a corner to tie the game 3-3 at 28:13.
- Third Quarter: Besselman posted a save in the early minutes of the second half and Ritchie tallied her second defensive save of the game not long after to preserve the deadlock. The Cougars eventually wore down the Gettysburg defense with Keeney and DiPiazza scoring back-to-back goals just over a minute apart. Thompson completed her hat trick in the 44th minute.
- Fourth Quarter: Gettysburg fired the only shot on goal in the final period. Senior Lauren Beccaria (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Ludlowe) was thwarted by Kean goalie Belly Reynoso with two minutes to go.
By the Numbers
- Kean finished with the lead in shots (18-8) and penalty corners (16-5).
- Gettysburg was competing just 24 hours after grinding out a 2-1 victory over Bryn Mawr College to kick off conference play.
- Gettysburg’s goal total was the best against Kean since the Cougars allowed four goals in a loss to eventual national champion Middlebury College in the 2019 NCAA Division III Championship Quarterfinals. Kean has won its last 14 games since that setback, including defeats of four nationally-ranked programs.
- Wenz has tallied a goal in three of the last four games and has scored a point in four-straight contests.
- Bertrando reached double-figure points in a season for the fourth time. The senior now has 63 career points and sits just eight points shy of cracking Gettysburg’s top 10.
Where the Series Stands Now
Saturday’s match up marked just the third meeting between Kean and Gettysburg. The Bullets had won the previous two battles with the Cougars in 1993 (4-0) and 2005 (2-1).
Next Up
Gettysburg meets No. 8 Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., on Wednesday, Sept. 29, at 7 p.m.
